Behind the Scenes -Having a Ball pt 2, by Maria Grace

Behind the scene palladian bridge for banner     Caroline plans the Netherfield Ball


Nov 16, 1811
Caroline dipped in a curtsey. Graceful, but hardly gracious. And the little chit did not even know the difference. Good thing she was pretty enough for a little country town or with manners like that, Lydia Bennet would surely have no hope of any kind of future.
She pinched her temples. The ill-mannered audacity of it all! Asking when the invitations would be sent! And Charles was no help. ‘When Nicholls has made enough white soup’—what kind of an answer was that?
Had she not disabused him of that particular joke earlier?
Thank heavens he had agreed to walk the entire gaggle of Bennet sisters home, and she was rid of the whole lot of them at once.
Perhaps now she might get on with her business. There was no time to be lost in frivolous chattering and gadding about. She pulled her housekeeping journal from her reticule. At least she had an ally in her efforts.
Nicholls had proven herself a treasure. Not only was she able to suggest where qualified additional help might be hired—at least two scullery maids, two kitchen maids, and additional man to help polish the silver and attend the men’s retiring room, and a pair of maids for everything else—Nicholls also crafted a very suitable menu for the evening—all sixty-three dishes of it. What was more, she identified the best local resources for everything the ball required. And the list of requirements was long.
To think Charles initially balked at the salary the housekeeper demanded. To be sure he was willing to pay handsomely for his valet when he could honestly make do with a far less expensive man, but one never, ever skimped on a housekeeper.
And this one was worth her weight in sugar, beeswax candles and the ice she knew remained in the ice house. Without her help and better, her experience, the event would be entirely impossible. Nicholls was, without a doubt, to date the best housekeeper they had ever enjoyed.
She even kept the guest list from the ball thrown by Netherfield’s last tenants. To be sure it was two years old, but it was a place to start. That foresight saved Caroline at least two hours’ time in her efforts, two hours she desperately needed.
It would take at least that long to engage the musicians Nicholls recommended and the artist to chalk the floors. Caroline flipped to the back of her book. Thank heavens, the sketch she had made of tall ships and starry skies remained tucked in place. Done by a proper artist, it would be the perfect complement to a candlelit ball room. Not to mention it would help cover those scratches and stains on the floorboards that no one had bothered to notice until she checked under the carpeting. Ah well, Nicholls could not be perfect, could she?
Oh the chandler! Botheration, she nearly forgot. That shop was on the way to the musician’s. She really ought to stop there first. Best insure sufficient six hour candles were available. It was entirely possible she might have to enlist the services of a second chandler in this sleepy little village. Who could predict what kind of stock would be available here? Surely it would be unusual for them to fill very large orders. Balls like this one could not happen more than once a season, if that often.
If only she had time to go to London—
She pinched the bridge of her nose. That conversation had not gone well. Charles had been so agreeable until that point. Why would he balk at a perfectly reasonable suggestion?
Capitulating had been mortifying, but permitting him to cancel the ball would have been far worse. Their reputation might never recover were that to happen.
At least Mr. Darcy had calmed Charles when the wine seller’s bill arrived. What did he expect her to make punch and negus from? What would a ball be without iced punch served to cool the dancers between each set?

Dear Mr. Darcy had agreed with her and convinced Charles to give her her head with everything else. What would this ball be without him to convince Charles of the desperate need to make this the event of the season?
Why it would be little different than that dreadful assembly attended by every shopkeeper and apprentice in the country where one could not always tell them from the gentlemen. To think whom she had agreed to dance with that night! Poor clerks should not be permitted to wear excellent suits and pass themselves off as more genteel than their occupation renders them.
And Charles thought it such a fine joke, even going so far as to suggest she might wish to invite him so that she might dance with him again.

Perish the thought. The Netherfield ball would be everything a proper, private, ball should be. Excellent company, excellent music, excellent victuals. All the height of fashion and refinement.
Well, perhaps not all the guests. The Bennets and the utterly garish Sir William Lucas and family had to be invited after all.
Nonetheless, this would be her opportunity to show Hertfordshire—and Mr. Darcy—what a proper mistress could do for Netherfield Park.

She paused and drew a deep breath. That was a far more agreeable thought to dwell upon. Mr. Darcy, with his fine figure, his excellent manners and extensive grounds. If she could impress him, show him she had all the qualities necessary for the mistress of a grand estate, perhaps then he would pursue her more seriously.
Clearly that was his intent. The conversations they shared, the snide remarks he offered for her enjoyment along, he must considering her. Surely concern for her fitness to manage his home had been the reason he hesitated. As cakey as Charles could be, Mr. Darcy must need concrete assurances that she would reflect well upon him in society.
And he would have it. The Netherfield ball would be every bit as grand as if it were held in London. She would prove herself a credit to her brother…and to any man who would make her mistress of his estate.
Yes, that would make all this inconvenience and bother entirely and completely worthwhile.
She tucked her journal back into her basket and turned into the chandler’s shop. About three hundred candles would do very nicely.

15 comments

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    • Carol on August 6, 2015 at 12:54 am
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    Clueless Caroline. Delusional without a doubt. Just cannot accept that Darcy doesn’t want her as a wife. Organizing the Netherfield Ball for all the wrong reasons.

    1. Maybe some of the wrong reasons, she is trying to save Charles’ reputation too. LOL! Thanks Carol!

    • Deborah on August 6, 2015 at 6:03 am
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    I agree with Carol. Caroline is delusional and clueless. The only reason Darcy is agreeing with her is that he knows what it takes to pull an event such as a ball and that a discontented Caroline could ruin the whole event. Darcy also know this isn’t the time to economize, but with Charles’ reaction to the wine bill being so expensive I wonder if Caroline is regularly extravagant (I can see her being so). It seems to make sense that a good housekeeper would be expensive and a gem because she would have tricks up her sleeve and a lot of experience. I never considered that before.

    I never heard of chalking he floor before. What is the purpose? Thank you so much for such a wonderful missing scene. It was a fun read. I never considered how much went into planning a ball.

    1. I envisioned it as Charles just having no idea what a ball would cost him.

      Chalking the floor was done to keep it from being too slippery while the dancers we dancing. The leather soles of the dancing slippers could be very slick on the wood floors. Even today I’ve had problems dancing without falling when the floors were too slippery.
      Thanks Deborah!

        • Deborah on August 6, 2015 at 8:23 pm
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        I guess it must be similar to why a ballerina chalks the toes of her skippers, then. I am sure, then that these chalkings must’ve been like works of art…possibly oohed and aahed over with each host trying to out do the other. Betting at White’s or Almac’s over them?

        1. As I understand it, they were.Don’t know if they were bet upon, but I suppose you never know!

    • Nancy Duell on August 6, 2015 at 8:32 am
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    I was curious about the chalking of the floor as well, Deborah. Does anyone know why?

    1. It was to give some traction on the slippery wood floor so dancers did not slip and fall. Thanks Nancy!

    • Beverlee on August 6, 2015 at 9:56 am
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    The logistics of these events have always fascinated me. I should do some research on menus. I can just imagine the amount of food that is required for an elegant society ball. Thanks for this morsel for our consumption.

    1. I am fascinated by the same things! I’ve planned big events, but always with the modern conveniences of a phone and computer and motor vehicles. Doing it without is mind blowing. I’ve read that 63 dishes would be typical for an event like this one. Imagine that in a kitchen with no electricity or gas or running water! Yikes!

    • Carol Hoyt on August 6, 2015 at 10:03 am
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    Such an interesting story. I really enjoy your prose and the history less woven in!

    And, of course, Caroline continues her unrealistic aspirations to be mistress of pemberly !

    1. Thanks, Carol. I’m toying with the idea of expanding it beyond these little scenes. I don’t know, we’ll see…

  1. Poor Caroline! I almost liked her until the part at the end about Mr. Darcy. Charles obviously has no clue what is needed for a ball “of the first water” so Mr. Darcy stepping in keeps everyone happy…especially Caroline.

    It’s nice to know that Caroline sees Mrs. Nicholls as “a treasure”–I loved the line about Charles balking at her salary while paying his valet quite handsomely. This story illustrates Charles’ cluelessness in running an estate (or even a home) and his ignorance would be understandably frustrating to a practical person such as Caroline.

    I’d hate to see Charles’ face when he sees the bill from the chandler(s)!! Beeswax candles are far superior, anyway. I often burn a candle when I work at my desk, and the normal paraffin candles drip and run and make a huge mess; it took me twenty minutes of scraping and scrubbing to get the wax runs from one candle off my wooden candle holder! But I used a beeswax candle this week, and there is not a single drip! And the smell–wonderful! No wonder they were vastly preferred over tallow (animal fat) candles before paraffin was used.

    Thanks for a lovely story–terrific research, Maria Grace!!

    Warmly,
    Susanne, who likes to write with a dip pen by candlelight…. 😉

    • Sheila L. M. on August 30, 2015 at 4:04 pm
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    I am late to the discussion:

    First, to give Caroline her rightful due – she does seem to know what is required to manage a ball and she is giving the housekeeper her due. (At least, mentally.)

    Sadly for her this is not the reason for which Darcy will marry!

    And Charles, being from trade, should realize moving up into society is not going to be an economical move. Liked the note about how his valet was well paid so he did know that value to his appearance as he attempts to make inroads with the ton.

    Yes, she is right to buy beeswax – don’t want the candles dripping from the chandeliers onto the guests – imagine the burns?

    Interesting excerpt. Thank you.

    1. Thank you. It is rather mind-boggling to think about what staging a ball like that would require. Even in a little town like Meryton, holding the social event of the season is a huge effort. Thanks, Sheila.

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